I write for Forbes with an outsiders inside perspective on Norway Scandinavia.All Rights Reserved Create Account Sign In BETA This is a BETA experience.You may opt-out by clicking here Edit Story Jul 20, 2019, 06:25am EDT Lukla: The Worlds Most Dangerous Airport David Nikel Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.Lifestyle A look at travel and lifestyle in Europe with a focus on Norway Scandinavia.
Yet the dangers begin well before trekkers even reach base camp. The most common way hikers reach the area is to fly to the tiny Himalayan settlement of Lukla, 9,383 feet above sea level. Although the flight time is just 25-30 minutes, the two airports are as different as night and day. Places like Gibraltar suffer from regular wind shear, while mountainous terrain surrounding airports like Innsbruck creates obvious risks. Airports at high-altitude present dangers due to the effect that low air pressure has on the handling of an airplane. The short runway is perched on little more than a mountain shelf. At one end theres a wall and at the other a steep drop into the valley below. Reduced air resistance also makes it more challenging to slow the plane down. Runways at many of the worlds international airports are more than 10,000 feet long. Given these factors, only helicopters and small fixed-wing propellor planes are permitted to land. Despite the short distance and short flight-time, the weather in Lukla can often be completely different from Kathmandu, and frequently changes while the airplane is on its way. Afternoons are so frequently cloudy that most flights are scheduled for the early morning. Thats not the case at Lukla, where there has been a list of incidents into double figures. Many of the more recent ones have even been caught on camera. The pilot lost visual contact in heavy fog during final approach but attempted a visual landing nevertheless. To land at Lukla, pilots must have completed 100 short-takeoff-and-landing flights, have at least one year of such experience in Nepal and have successfully completed ten flights into Lukla with a certified instructor. Construction of a new helipad is also underway to increase passenger capacity. David Nikel I was born in the U.K. Norway in 2011 and havent looked back. I run a website and podcast for fellow expats, authored the Moon Norway travel guidebook, help Read More I was born in the U.K. Lukla Airport Crash Statistics Free Time TouringI run a website and podcast for fellow expats, authored the Moon Norway travel guidebook, help Norwegian companies with their English, and spend my free time touring the country to discover more about the people and places of this unique corner of the world.
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